布雨之龍
The Dragons Who Rained
一個英文寫成的中國傳統神話故事，關於中國四條江的形成。
Long， long ago， rain stopped falling in China. The people prayed for rain to the Jade Emperor， for it was he who looked after everything in heaven， on the land and in the sea， but no matter how much they prayed， rain did not fall.
在很久很久以前的中國，遇到了一次滴水不降的旱災。人們就向掌管天上、地下、海洋的玉皇大帝求拜，但無論他們怎么祈求，雨始終不落一滴。
Four dragons lived in the East China Sea in those days. They swam to shore to see what was happening， and saw people tearing grass from the caked ground， for the people had nothing else left to eat.
當時，有四條龍住在中國的東海。他們游到岸邊去看怎么回事，看到人們在從結塊的土地上拔草吃，因為土地上實在沒有別的東西吃了。
“We must do something，” Long Dragon said， and Yellow Dragon nodded. “We must help them ourselves，” said Pearl Dragon， “for the Jade Emperor will never answer their prayers.”
“我們得做點什麼，”長龍說道，黃龍點頭附和。“我們一定得幫幫他們，”珠龍說，“因為玉帝是不會答應他們的祈求的。”
They suddenly thought of a way to help. They started swimming this way and that， scooping up water with their bodies. Then all four leapt into the sky. Black Dragon flew to the north， Long Dragon flew to the west， Pearl Dragon flew to the southernmost tip of China， and Yellow Dragon flew to the very center of the vast country. All at once， they let the water fall from their mouths， arms， legs， and even their tails.
他們突然想到了一個辦法。他們在海里游，然後用他們的身體汲取水。然後他們四個分別騰飛天空。黑龍飛向了北面，長龍飛去了西面，珠龍飛去了中國的最南端，而黃龍則飛去了這個遼闊國度的最中心。突然，他們讓水從他們的嘴巴、手腳、尾巴流出來。
The people down below looked up， but they could not see the dragons. They could only see the rain falling from the sky —— drops of rain more beautiful than any jewel. “Rain！” they cried joyfully， and all the people and animals ran out into the rain and started to dance.
地面的人們看到了，但他們看不到龍。他們只能看到雨從天空降下來——雨滴比任何珠寶都來得美麗。“雨！”人們歡呼雀躍，所有的人和動物都奔入雨中，歡呼起舞。
When the Jade Emperor saw the rain， he was furious. “Who dares to tamper with[干預] my world？” he shouted， and then saw the four dragons swooping around in the sky. “You will not escape！” he thundered， and summoning[招集] Mountain God， he ordered him to kill the dragons.
當玉帝看到雨，他十分震怒。“是誰幹的？”他咆哮道，然後他看到了飛在空中的四條龍。“你們跑不了的！”他大吼道，然後招集山神，他命令山神殺死四條龍
Mountain God sent four mountains tumbling after the dragons. The moment the creatures landed， the four mountains landed on top of them， crushing them. Then an odd thing happened. Suddenly four rivers formed， springing out from beneath the mountains and spreading across the whole country.
山神派了四座山去壓倒四龍。當龍一到，四座上就壓倒他們，壓垮他們。奇怪的事情發生了，突然間形成了四條河，從山下流出，貫穿了整個國家。
This， people say， is how the four great rivers of China were created： the Yangtze， the Yellow， the Pearl and the Heilongjiang are all that remain of the four great dragons who once saved the people of China.
人們說，這就是中國四條大江的由來，長江、黃河、珠江和黑龍江就是這四條龍的遺贈，他們曾經挽救過中國人們的生命。
布雨之龍 The Dragons Who Rained